Siesta Key Part 2

Hello…and happy first day of August!

I hope your week is off to a great start. I have one more post recapping our vacation in Siesta Key. I shared part 1 last week, and have two more days to share today.

Wednesday:

I enjoyed my coffee before going for a walk in the morning.

It was hot, but the views were pretty!

We had a quick lunch at the house before going to the beach. Hadley wanted a smoothie bowl, so we stopped for one as well as sweatshirt shopping

We went to Turtle Beach for a few hours that afternoon. I really do love that beach because it’s only steps from the parking lot to the sand…and it’s not very crowded.

A fellow beach-goer saw me taking the girls’ picture and offered to take one of the three of use. She probably thought both girls were my daughters. haha

I had a great time with the girls.

(How cute is my “beach” ball cap? Remember when we took the kids to the outlet malls…Hadley went into Simply Southern and I saw it…I think it was $6! I figured, why not? Also, sometimes I have a hard time wearing my favorite sunglasses with ball caps, so that one fits perfectly for that too.)

I finished a book and started a new one while the girls swam and floated on the boogie boards.

We were there a couple of hours before a storm started brewing. Truly, this view was behind me and I had no clue. It was sunny and blue skies while I watched the girls float on the boogie boards, and Hadley pointed behind me and said, “Mom look!” We stayed until it was obvious we should pack up.

We were at the house for a bit before heading to the Lobster Pot for dinner. This is Hadley’s favorite place to eat. I showed her the pic from 2019, and of course she wanted to recreate it.

After dinner, we went back to the house. The girls were tired, so I went and caught the sunset. When I sent them the pic of the rainbow, they wished they’d joined me…haha

…I sent Hadley a selfie…

I’ll never get over how the sunset at the same spot of the beach can look so different night to night…

and…the lighting can change so much in a matter of minutes…

Then, I picked the girls up, and we headed for ice cream at Orange Octopus.

Like every other night, I read and they hung out and watched tv before bed.

Thursday:

As many times as we’ve been to Siesta Key, we’ve never been on the water. I was able to book us on a morning two hour boat ride…”morning dolphin cruise.” So, we were at the marina early to check in and get on the boat.

The captain was funny and knowledgeable.

In the first thirty minutes we passed quite a few “famous” houses.

Top left: Prince’s former house (in the foreground, you can see the edge of the purple pool)

Top right: Andre Agassi’s former house. There’s a gold lion head until the second level windows.

Middle left: Urban Meyer’s current house.

Middle right: Tommy Bahama’s house (can’t remember if it’s his current house)

Bottom left: The guy who has the patent for the Swatch Watch built that house.

Bottom right: The most expensive house in Siesta Key – $30 million…and guess how many bedrooms it has—2!

…the view of Sarasota was neat.

They stopped at one point and let everyone go to the front of the boat to snap pics if they wanted.

Besides us, there was a group of four and then a family six.

I thought this was so cool…the captain said this dog walker/day care brings the dogs to play on this sandbar. The pups were having the best time.

So, we were on the lookout for dolphins with not much luck…and then, on our way back, almost to the marina, we saw three dolphins right in front of Prince’s house! It was cool to see…but hard to catch in a picture.

After the boat ride, it was lunchtime, so we headed to the village for pizza.

The girls were full and tired, so they hung at the house, while I went to the beach for a couple of hours. I was able to read my book, and enjoy the view.

For dinner, we ate Mexican food at the Hub which is another favorite.

Then, we went to catch one last sunset.

The girls played spike ball again, and…

Hadley found a sand dollar. It was alive, so she just showed it to me, and put it back.

We hung out for as long as we could.

I always hate saying “goodbye” to the beach.

There were clouds rolling in, and the girls were being silly.

The sky colors changed so quickly…

…and even the walk back to the car was so pretty.

On the way home, we stopped for gelato at another favorite place in the village.

Then, we tidied up and packed our suitcases before just relaxing the rest of the night.

Friday :

We were up around 7, so we could leave by 8.

It’s a family “tradition” to take a pic in front of the palm trees at the house before we leave. I took this pic earlier in the week because they both had their new sweatshirts on…haha

Our rental car was a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the week…and I really loved it.

Honestly, I was expecting a four door sedan, but at the car rental rep gave me a few choices and mentioned the jeep, so I went for it.

Side note — Hadley’s “dream” car is a jeep…(a real jeep), so I was excited that they had this Grand Cherokee option, so I didn’t tell the girls which car was ours until we got to the parking spot…but it was parked right next to Hadley’s dream car jeep…lol

Also, my dad drove a white Grand Jeep Cherokee for many years –actually 17 I think!…so this was a fun blast from the past.

We stopped in the village at Meaney’s Mini Donuts and Coffee House before hitting the road.

I can’t believe how seamless the trip was in regards to checking in/security flights being on time, picking up and dropping off the car, etc. Each way, from leaving the house, arriving at the airport one hour before departure, the two hour flight and getting home was five hours total…and no issues.

And…did I mention, for the first time ever, I packed a carry-on suitcase? This milestone needs to be remembered…haha

Thanks for following along on our little girls vacay. We had a great time.